Spinach and Sausage Casserole.

From Elise. I apparently just didn't take pictures for a while.

Uinta Crooked Line Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner.

Here's another imperial pilsner. I wonder if this is going to be the next trendy style to have. The Gordon Biersch IPB is pretty good. I am also a fan of the Sam Adams Noble Pils. This one comes off as a little too malty and creamy, not enough clean, light hop flavor. Maybe it's a little old. I left in the fridge and forgot about it for at least a month and who knows how long it was sitting on a store shelf before that.

It's pretty easy-going for being a stiff 9%. Oh, the bottle is stamped with a bottled-on date of 5/22/12. So kinda old.

The label is nice, certainly drinkable, but not what I'm looking for in an imperial pilsner.

Brewery de Ranke XX Bitter.

From a bottle trade, though I've since had it at WF tastings. It doesn't have a strong typical Belgian character with all the candi sugar and spices and such. It's much more of a plain golden with a notable pils hop character with some extra white wine astringency on the back.

Firestone Walker Wookey Jack.

Style tweaks are getting ridiculous. This is like two cousins having a baby. Is it a rye ale crossed with a black IPA or is it a rye IPA crossed with a black IPA? It's a pretty hoppy black IPA, regardless. Smells malty, tastes malty, feels malty. And the hops are muddy in a rich way. A little too much residue for my liking though and not terribly spicy.

Anchor Christmas Ale.

Not going to lie, I'm not a big fan of Christmas ales or wee heavies or winter warmer usually. Not a fan of this one either. Too much fruitiness, cherry, prune, a little bit of dark chocolate, too sweet and tart instead of malty and smooth. No more words here.

Yeah, so Blogger has basically neutered the functionality/semantics of "draft" to the point where it is not really usable for me. I start a draft when I drink something, but I don't upload a picture at that point because I do those in batches. But if I go back and edit a draft and try to publish or not even publish, just edit, the publish time gets set to current time. So, in order to preserve the ordering, I have to publish from the UI and then go back and edit to insert the picture, which preserves the original publish time. What a headache.

So there's going to be lot of posts without pictures for a while.

Devil's Canyon Bourbon-barrel Aged Scotch Ale.

A bottle from a trade. Most bourbon barrel-aged stuff tends to me stouts, so I was pleased to see something different here. Typical looking pour. First taste, my face: >:*

This thing is sour. At first I thought infected, which would be a bummer because this is a limited brew. But after reading some comments on BA, maybe this is just how it was intended. The nose is really pleasant: smoky vanilla and caramel. Which is also what you get in the center of your tongue, but everything around it is pretty tart. A quick swig without too much pontification will save you from most of the funk, but still, pretty weird.

Wow, I don't even have a scotch tag. That seems weird.

Straffe Hendrik Bruges Quadrupel Ale.

From a bottle sale from earlier in the summer. I had a great tripel from Straffe Hendrik last summer so I was stoked to try some more stuff. This is pretty damn good. A bit of chocolate in the nose. Rich, decadent malts; molasses; dense fruit like raisin and prune, with a slightly tannic and hop bitter finish. A late toffee and coffee finish.

BA reviewers are funny sometimes. I read some that gave low marks because it was too boring, to textbook. To be fair, this is a solid quad. No, it's not amazingly unique. Yes, it's pricier than your average 22oz/750ml. What are you expecting? Be appreciated that they can nail the style, at least. That's my beef with the BA scoring, a one-dimensional number to compress a 5/6-dimensional tasting. If a beer nails the style but is nothing special, some people rate it low while others rate high. Sometimes, people like a beer because it's different and rate it high, even if it may not represent the style very well. What do?

Also, I'm not very consistent with the use of my "belgian" tag. Oh well.

Jester King Noble King Hoppy Farmhouse Ale.

Aside from Shiner, I think Jester King is the only other brewery I've had from TX (Austin). I picked this up during a bottle sale at least a month ago, just now getting around to it as I haven't been motivated or cognizant enough to work through some of the bottles I've picked up over the summer. I did get several from Jester King though because they have fairly elaborate labels.

An overly aggressive pour for a very rambunctious beer. The head came up stiff and light. Nice strong pils-y nose. Despite it looking high carb, it's surprisingly mellow. Similarly, it's a saison with a strong pilsner character from the noble hop(s) (East Kent Golding, Czech Saaz, plus others [as available]; Saaz is the only named noble here.). It's fairly dry, light bo

died, and pretty cleansing. And, at only 5.9%, it'd be a nice table beer.

Buffalo Chicken Chili.

Kevin

St. Sebastiaan Yeast Hoist.

Not sure if this is a rebottling of something or a totally limited brew. Either way, the jug is cool. The printing is silk-screened.

The beer itself is an easy drinker. Nothing super complex. Tastes more like a young Belgian abbey crossed with a wit to me. Clearly, I am taking this summer super-cas(ual).

New Belgium Dig.

Rogue Double Dead Guy.

Here's a beer I've been putting off for a while. I'm a big fan of Dead Guy, though I've read somewhere that this really has no relation to it. Oh well.

I can't say I'm all that into actually. It's got too much of that squash-y, brown and candi sugar caramel taste which just carries and intensifies the otherwise moderate hop character. meh. It is too hot (car thermometer hit 100 driving down 280) today to really enjoy a beer like this.

Gordon Biersch Braumeister Select IPB.

I got to try this at a WF tasting a few weeks ago. GB is not really regarded as a notable brewery, they are actually not that bad. I've had GB on occasion, and I really do think they try to make a good beer. Not that they are anything to write home about, but I think they are much more approachable for the macro beer drinker to get into craft beer.

I'm not typically a fan of pilseners but I've had a few that I've liked in the past, Sam Adams Noble Pils for one. I think I'm actually had one imperial pilsener before as well, though I can't remember where that was. Weighing in at only 6.5%, it's not really the typical imperial strength. In terms of flavor thou

gh, it's definitely a beefier brew. IPB stands for "Imperial Pilsner Brau", by the way.

Nose is a crisp, slightly grassy spring aroma, makes it just that much more refreshing. I like this one. Plus it comes in a swing-top, which is cool.

New Belgium Shift.

Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary.

This is probably one of the few beers to which I've looked forward in recent memory. I picked up two bottles, one for the fridge and one for sitting, even though I know it won't keep well probably. For being an anniversary brew, it was pretty reasonably priced.

DAAAAAAAAAAMN. Watching the pour, thick resiny bubbles cropped up in the fine, dense head. A rich floral, hoppy aroma. And I mean floral. Usually when someone says floral, it means a slightly fragrant, maybe grassy, delicate non-bitter aroma. This is not that kind of floral. It is a bouquet.

This actually tastes somewhat more refined than Stone IPA and, presumably, Ruination. The up-front is relatively gently, but the IBUs kick in hard and fast, super punchy, really aggressive and persistent. The body is nice and light for the wallop, but leaves a bit of residue.

Really, I should have tried this next to a regular Ruination, but, alas, I did not. But this is a kickass, dangerously sippable/drinkable beer. I( will definitely have to pick up some more, if I see it around.

Triple Voodoo Grand Cru.

The other Triple Voodoo offering I picked up on sale. Really watery/thin tasting, not much malt, a bitter spice, and a little hot. Not very pleasant at all. What's up with this?

I didn't rotate some of these. Whatever.

PDX.

Triple Voodoo Inception.

Saw a couple bottles from this little local brewery on sale so I picked them up. Not a whole lot of ratings for them on BA; in fact, these are the only two beers they have apparently.

I am pleasantly surprised. This is a nice malty, spicy Belgian strong pale. The mild hop bittering plays well with the spices (maybe cardamom, cinnamon, ginger?) and persists with just enough presence on the finish. The mouthfeel is really nice

: full and smooth but cut well with the carb. There's a hint of heat at the end as well. I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise, but I've done a lot of excessive drinking the last couple days and that tends to make me more sensitive to that feature when it's there.

Overall, I do like this beer, though it could be a bit dangerous at 8%ABV. We'll see how fast it actually ends up going down and whether it's too filling afterward. In other news, I'm going to keep things casual until I finally get caught up on my backlog of drafts. Many are just waiting for a picture, which I do not have with me here, so I don't know if I'll just push them out and edit later or what. So maybe I won't get caught up until the winter. Ho hum.

Knee Deep Brewing Hoptologist DIPA.

Finally getting into some new beer for another summer abroad. I haven't heard of Knee Deep so I picked up a bomber. This was actually a purchase from a few weeks ago, but I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to sit with a thoughtful beer. To be honest, I've mostly been drinking Copper Bell, $5 for a 12-pack at WF these days. Pretty hard to beat that.

First impression is a bit hop pellet-y, a typically bit unbalanced DIPA. Not going to be impressed, especially since I just finished a Stone IPA. But it's a funny bottle.

On a related note, WF was having a 20% off 375mL+-sized bottles today so I picked up a half dozen or so new ones, so hopefully I'll have some solid beers coming down the line soon. I should also probably pick up some more Copper Bell. I must say, I'm enjoying my boozing a bit more this summer without the self-imposed pressure of taking myself so seriously. Expect a lot more casual impressions rather than 5-point reviews. Got a hankering to head up to Lagunitas and Russian River soon.

Black Diamond Rampage Imperial IPA.

I never got around to trying any Black Diamond last summer so here we are. It's only ok. It's nice for an IPA but there's something a bit watery behind it. Meh. I wouldn't be interested in buying this again. 'Nuff said.

Doritos Flamas.

I love chips. If I see a new flavor, I have to try it. The great thing about snack food is that it varies from region to region, so no surprise that Doritos has flavors for the nontrivial demographics in California. Flamas is some sort of super spicy+lime concoction that stains things red. I love spicy things. I love lime, mostly with gin, but I still love lime. Needless to say, I totally dig these. They bring that extra heat that makes you clench your teeth when you inhale, as if the extra air pressure will somehow give you better convection action to soothe your tongue. But that's how you know it's good. (Reminder: I also saw a Doritos Tapatio. Must compare.)

While the staining make me feel slightly uncomfortable consuming these in any quantity, they are too good to stop at just one bag. I anticipate this to be a part of my regular chip rotation this summer. Likewise, there is also a Cheetos analog that I must try. (Aside: Ruffles is making a man chip with increased dimension and manlier flavors, drops in July.) Here is a much more amusing, though less favorable review. It also has a silly picture.

G. Schneider and Sohn Anventinus Wheat Doppelbock.

First beer review for this summer, but I'll keep it casual. I remember getting pretty burnt out last summer being as strict as I was with my beer purchasing. Granted, I did get through a whole lot of new beers, but this summer, that means I can take it pretty easy and revisit my favorites.

This bottle, however, is from a little gift from the GF to help me get settled in. I also used it as an excuse to pick up a new beer glass. It has a nice malty, dark fruit aroma, something like figs or dates. The actual flavor and body are less doppelbock-like and takes more after the wheat. It's also pretty carbed, not sure why that is. I also feel like there are some tannins because my mouth suddenly feels rather dry, but I also just ate a GD salad for a snack.

Doritos Jacked Smoky Chipotle BBQ.

First, it's hard to resist a Doritos sale. Second, it's hard to resist a new flavor. Doritos Jacked are supposed to be "BIGGER, BOLDER, THICKER". Not the greatest tagline. I was pumped about the BBQ flavor because I still think the Smokin' Cheddar BBQ was one of the best flavors of all time. What a letdown. The flavor is only barely BBQ and there's a slight smokiness that's supposed to be chipotle. Meh. The chips are slightly bigger but not by much. And they are only slightly thicker. I remember there were those Tostitos Gold chips a number of years ago. I think they were Tostitos. Anyway, they were super thick and crunchy. The serving size was only like 5 or 6 chips because the original cut was so thick. Those were pretty solid. These are not so solid despite having the serving sized halved in comparison to regular Doritos. Granted, Doritos go for more crisp than crunch, but it's still disappointing.

Zapp's.

I wouldn't normally cram all these together, but I ate them all so here we are. Some Zapp's brand kettle chips were on sale a few weeks ago so I decided to pick some up. I saw the Salt & Vinegar and said, "FUCK YEAH," and then I saw a bag of Hotter 'n Hot Jalapeno and I was like "AW SHIT". I grabbed both and started to walk away. But then I was like >_>. I looked again and saw something flavor called. Crawnator. Ok, I'll trade the S&V for the Craws because I love my shrimp chips. But then I saw this other bag called VOODOO, and I was like 0_0. So I traded the jap chips for that. I took three steps, and then I turned around and grabbed the jap chips anyway because I love jalapeno chips. And then I found five dollars.

The Crawnators were pretty disappointing. Mildly shrimpy but not really. The base chip was pretty good and crunchy though but a little greasier than other brands. Still doesn't hold a thing against Asian shrimp chips. The Voodoo was a similar story. I couldn't figure out what flavor it was supposed to be from the ingredients list but even tasting them, I still couldn't really figure it out. It tasted vaguely like the Crawnators with some mild BBQ. The Jalapeno chips were good, but I've had better. They were hot and only mildly peppery. The balance between heat and pepper was pretty good, but again, relatively mild.

For the price, it was good deal for kettle chips, but overall, I've had better kettle chips.

Sam Adams Griffin's Bow Oaked Blonde Barleywine.

Hooray for beers with unnecessarily long names. Another unique Sam Adams drop to try while I wait for a fresh pint of Dead Ringer to settle down. I haven't had hardly any barley wines this season and the weather has been unseasonably warm recently with today finally cooling by about 20F. It's almost fitting that this barley wine be so much lighter in color that its typical kin, a light, crystal clear caramel. While the head is quite thin, it manages to leave a lot of lacing. The aroma is spot on: sweet, malty, slightly woody without being bourbon-y, slightly boozy. The taste follows the aroma pretty closely, with the heat being a little over the top. There are plenty of good b-wines out there that pack 10%ABV without letting on. I suppose that's the advantage of getting to use darker malts.

This is a pretty interesting beer. I can tell that it's a barley wine, but it's distinctive as well

Sam Adams Griffin's Bow Oaked Blonde Barleywine.

Hooray for beers with unnecessarily long names. Another unique Sam Adams drop to try while I wait for a fresh pint of Dead Ringer to settle down. I haven't had hardly any barley wines this season and the weather has been unseasonably warm recently with today finally cooling by about 20F. It's almost fitting that this barley wine be so much lighter in color that its typical kin, a light, crystal clear caramel. While the head is quite thin, it manages to leave a lot of lacing. The aroma is spot on: sweet, malty, slightly woody without being bourbon-y, slightly boozy. The taste follows the aroma pretty closely, with the heat being a little over the top. There are plenty of good b-wines out there that pack 10%ABV without letting on. I suppose that's the advantage of getting to use darker malts.

This is a pretty interesting beer. I can tell that it's a barley wine, but it's distinctive as well. I'm still on the fence on whether I really like it or not though. It's good for the moment but the heat is starts to get a bit big.

• Appearance: Clear, light caramel. Thin head with lacing.
• Smell: Sweet, almost cider-y, wood, noticeable heat.
• Taste: A bit vinous, sweet, a little bit of apple tart. Wood and heat.
• Mouthfeel: Smooth, perhap a bit more effervescent than a normal barley wine. Lighter in weight and viscosity.
• Drinkability and Overall: It's no lightweight, but a refreshing take on a traditionally rich beer.

Sam Adams Dark Depths Baltic IPA.

A new Sam Adams I found the other day. I don't much much experience with Baltic porters so I didn't know what to expect. If I had to compare this to a black IPA, it fits the bill better than most. There is a sweetness and creaminess like a milk stout. It's not strongly bitter from the dark malts, and there is a nice, mild grassy hop taste on the back end. The mouthfeel is exceptionally smooth. Overall

• Appearance:
• Smell:
• Taste:
• Mouthfeel:
• Drinkability and Overall:

Sam Adams Third Voyage Double IPA.

I've been seeing these special brews from Sam Adams lately. They look pretty adventurous. I've been sitting on this one and another one lately and since I found a couple new ones the other day, I figured I should start working on one. Third Voyage is brewed with Cascades from UK, NZ and US so that's kind of cool. It's not as hooppy as I'd like for a double but maybe that's because it's mostly malty up front with the bitter showing up late. Not going to lie, there's some serious booziness going on.

Maybe it's because I'm sick, but I'm not really feeling this one. All somewhat unbalanced

• Appearance: Clear, typical dark amber. Fairly creamy, frothy head. Curtains.
• Smell: Rather fruity, tropical aroma, somewhat sugar-y.
• Taste: Very malty up front with only a hop bitter arriving towards the finish which accents the alcohol heat unpleasantly.
• Mouthfeel: Leaves more residue than I'd like, but otherwise typical.
• Drinkability and Overall: It was a nice experience but not one I'd want to repeat again and again.

Harpoon Black IPA.

I met a douche-y kind of guy at a local brewery some time ago, and we had a short exchange about black IPA/Cascadian dark ales. He insisted that all the black IPAs he had tried were plenty hoppy. It has always been a concern of mine that perhaps my taste simply wasn't sensitive enough to discern the hops from the dark malts, which would be really sad because black IPA is a pretty popular style. Of course, people must be able to discern the tastes, or otherwise it wouldn't be so popular (buh huh huh).

This is the first black IPA I've had that had actually has some hop presence. You know what? It's pretty good. Hoppy, malty, dark, and bitter of all kinds. The body is lighter than a porter even. Still not much to say though. It's all pretty powerful flavors. I hope I can find more Cascadians like this one. (I originally typed "black IPA". I guess the name is going to stick.

• Appearance: Very dark, but clear pour. Thin tan head.
• Smell: Slight hop aroma like a pale rather than an IPA with a hint of roastiness.
• Taste: Hoppy and dark and layers of varying bitterness. Still strongly dark malt, but the hoppiness doesn't get drowned out.
• Mouthfeel: Lighter than its color might indicate. Lighter than a porter, though finishes with a bit of residue.
• Drinkability and Overall: This is probably the first black IPA I've really liked and cared to drink.

Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat.

Pyramid Outburst Imperial IPA.

Guy at the shop had been recommending I try the Outburst since I've been downing the Empire IPA lately. It turns out it's the same price so I went for a fill this time. Typical pour, had a nice whiff of resiny hop aroma on opening. Outburst is a good name for this brew. Right up front is a punchy, hoppy, sweet resiny flavor, bright and bitter. It finishes a little bit dirty and harsh though. A few more sips to wreck your palate takes off most of the edge though. Initial impression: I like it. For the price, it's a great deal for an imperial IPA. It's not as assertive as some other imperials, but not everyone can be Unearthly or Ruination.

• Appearance:
• Smell:
• Taste:
• Mouthfeel:
• Drinkability and Overall:

Harpoon Vermont Spruce Tip.

Ok, finally a non-borked one, I think. The color is a clear reddish amber and not some ruddy brown so that's a good sign. With a name like 'spruce tip', I had expected a rich, hoppy beast, but I should have read the label more carefully as it's only rated at 38 IBU. Brewed with spruce tips, I can pick them up a bit, but overall it's pretty mild and nondescript. Slightly sweet.

Harpoon Docesna Czech Hop Harvest.

A little dark, but noticeably fresher than the last two. The malty is still coming off as overpowering but there's still some semblance of hop character here. Lesson learned.

Harpoon Wet Hop Glacier.

Well, I think it's official that I've borked these beers.

Harpoon Single Hop ESB.

From the 100 Barrel Series, session 31. I have a several of the recent 100 Barrel releases that I had been sitting on, but I decided there wasn't much point to it, especially for the hoppy ones. I'll keep the bottles, and I suppose that's the only collectible value here. I'm starting with the oldest first which is at least a year old at this point. Doh.

It's pouring pretty dark for what I know about ESBs and is coming off pretty malty too. I wonder if this is an oxidation effect, much like what happened to my homebrew tripel and DIPA. There's a reddish tinge and a low, creamy cap. It doesn't taste skunky or anything though, a bit biscuity, watery caramel. maybe a hint of hop bitter and astringency on the back end but not much to say anywhere else. The carb is low and smooth, as expected for an ESB, which is part of what makes them such great session beers. I wish I had cracked a bottle when it first came out so I would know if this is totally wacky or not now. I'll be working through the other 100 Barrels as quickly as I can.

• Appearance: Transparent, light brown, red tinge. Thin, creamy head.
• Smell: Biscuity.
• Taste: Somewhat malty, maybe almost chocolate-y, slight grassy notes that are not quite hoppy.
• Mouthfeel: Low, smooth carb. A very quaffable mouthfeel.
• Drinkability and Overall: In this state, I like everything about it except the taste. Could have been a great session-like beer.

Stone 15th Anniversary Imperial Black IPA.

I brought back a couple bottles from CA (though not from Stone), finally getting around to one.

• Appearance: Opaque, brownish-black. Tan head, creamy and lace-y.
• Smell: Mildly hoppy, toasted malt aromas.
• Taste: Strangely salty, more than anything else, a bit like soy sauce. Slightly roasted, slightly sweet, still not very hoppy.
• Mouthfeel: Very fine, creamy and smooth
• Drinkability and Overall: Worth a try but not a repeater for me. Might be nice to keep some around for aging/collecting/trading.

Allagash Dubbel.

• Appearance: Reddish clay mud but clear. Fine, fluffy head.
• Smell: Fruity, apricot, slightly yeasty.
• Taste: Slightly spicy, not particularly sweet, a little too mild.
• Mouthfeel: Malty solution, moderate carb.
• Drinkability and Overall: Not particularly impressed, unfortunately.

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye.

• Appearance: Clear, dark copper. Mossy head.
• Smell: Can't get much here, only a bit of mild rye bread.
• Taste: Spicy rye and hop bitter play nicely together, breadier and no noticeable sweetness, maybe a slight characteristic metallic tint.
• Mouthfeel: Well carbed with mild bite, evenly distributed. Very much an IPA-like body. Finished clean with no residue.
• Drinkability and Overall:

Sam Adams Alpine Lager.

It's been a while since I've have anything from Boston Beer Company but I saw this seasonal out the other day. An unfilitered lager, it pours exactly the way it sounds. It's just a little hazy, with no obvious particulates. I did notice that appears to be much less carbed than the typical macro: only a few trails of bubbles leading up to the headless surface. Nonetheless, the carbing is most evident all around the edges, leaving a pretty pleasant liquid gold center. The taste is reminiscent of those countless cans of macro but much more mature and refined. It's full-bodied, slightly sweet honey notes, sunshine and amber waves of grain. It's like the college beer that has finally graduated, settled down, put on about 20 pounds, and learned to stop and smell the roses.

I like this beer because it's an easy drinker, still flavorful, and not so thin as to be dismissed without a thought. It should be a nice change of pace in the typical springtime lineup of hefes and wits and the like while bringing a bit more heft to the table than a kolsch or some other craft pilsener. A little lemon might help boost the citrus and cut through some of the body.

• Appearance: Pale gold, slightly hazy, no head retention.
• Smell: A rich, grainy aroma. Characteristic lager smell but much heavier and thicker.
• Taste: Almost hefeweizen-like, slightly sweet. Almost nondescript except for the small points of hop flavor, no bitter, no floral.
• Mouthfeel: Cohesive and surprisingly heavy but still refreshing. Carb is fairly low and slow, tingling only around the edges.
• Drinkability and Overall: I like it. It's a nice change of pace from hefes and wits for warm weather beers.

Six Point Righteous Rye Ale.

I liked the Bengali and I like rye ales so this was a natural option. Right off the bat, it is significantly more rye-biased than say GI Mild Winter. I wonder if rye ales are going to be the next trend as I also picked up a rye offering from Sierra Nevada and a imperial rye from Harpoon was on tap at the local shop. In any case, I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. I like rye. But something doesn't jive well with me here. It starts off a little punchy but then there's some weird caramel, soda-ish sweetness. It finishes awkwardly with a bit of a film. I think what bothers me the most is that it doesn't have the weight of cold-weather beer, instead opting for a fairly light and fizzy body.

• Appearance: Maple syrup brown.
• Smell: Spicy, slightly fruity.
• Taste: Obviously rye, but there is some off-putting caramel sweetness.
• Mouthfeel: A bit over-carbed and light-bodied.
• Drinkability and Overall: It drinks fine and smoothly, if a bit too much carb bite. Could be construed as refreshing. Not sure if it's just me, but it didn't seem like everything came together properly with this one.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout.

The 11-12 gave a much bigger hiss on popping the cap. The 10-11 is much breadier is both smell and taste. I had initially thought that the 10-11 had taken on a hotter, harsher edge, but comparing against the 11-12, it's actually lighter, smoother, mellower than the 11-12. The 11-12 is pretty up-front with bitter malts, coffee, and even a little boozy heat. The 10-11, I've decided, is bitter in more of a dark chocolate way than anything else. It's just very smooth and dangerously drinkable, leaving not much residue, and the linger is just long enough to be pleasant and short enough to bring you in for more.

Port Brewing Oak-Aged Santa's Little Helper.

As I was pouring, I was surprised by how light this was. Instead of the thick, oily, opaque black pour one normally receives from an imperial stout, this was noticeably tinted brown. An assertive bourbon character is evident in both the nose and initial taste. The barrel aging leaves it boozy but not hot, and there's a slightly dirty, woody taste towards the back end. The more that I think about it though, the bourbon is masking a lot of the expected complexity of an imperial stout. I'm finding it difficult to pick up the typical coffee and chocolate notes, even the dark malts. Even the mouthfeel is somewhat bourbon-y: lighter, cooler, and a bit astringent.

Weyerbacher Fifteen Smoked Imperial Stout.

• Appearance:
• Smell:
• Taste:
• Mouthfeel:
• Drinkability and Overall:

Mild smokiness that doesn't bring an overpowering sense of bacon. Predominantly roasted malts with hints of coffee.

Atwater Block VJ Black Imperial Stout.

Yet another bottle that's been taking yup room since before the summer, bottled March 2011. There's lot of fruity sweetness in this one. Fruity coffee nose, fruity sweetness as it lingers on the tongue. Strong, bittersweet chocolate notes with almost burnt malts. The mild carbonation makes it a dangerously easy drinker and the 11%ABV brings no heat.

I think the component I enjoy the most is the cogency of the entire flavor profile. There is an mild bittersweetness that weaves through the chocolate, coffee, and malt notes, but it is far from being cloying. It is clean and smooth, no residue, not on the lips or even the glass. I think I like this one quite a bit. It's a good story.

• Appearance: Black core, brown around the edges, opaque. Lack of a head is replaced with an oil slick.
• Smell: Fruity coffee beans.
• Taste: Overall, a bittersweetness permeates all components: Coffee, chocolate, dark malts.
• Mouthfeel: Fairly light for an imperial stout. Slick and clean. Ok, if a bit initially biting, carb.
• Drinkability and Overall: Moves easily but at 11%ABV, exercise caution. A nice change of pace in the imperial stout category with good balance and cohesion.

Scalloped Potatoes and Chestnut Stuffing.

Lucky Buddha.

A piece of swag from CA. Chinese beers are not that great, except for Tsingtao which is the less skunky twin of Heineken, but with a sweet bottle like this, picking up a loose one wasn't going to hurt. Actually, I can't even imagine what these would look like in a 4- or 6-pack. I suppose they must ship in non-display cases. Anyway, there's nothing surprising here, just a "fizzy, yellow beer". Absurdly light, to the point of looking watered down and washed out, and clear, it tastes like a adjunct macro. But look, check out this sweet bottle.

• Appearance: Ultra clear, light, pale.
• Smell: Almost nothing, barely a hint of "light beer"-ness
• Taste: Very light, lager-y, no skunk. Probably more tasteless than Mich Ultra.
• Mouthfeel: Fizzy.
• Drinkability and Overall: Drinkability is irrelevant as long as you get the bottle.

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Grand Cru.

Finally got around to this one, which should hopefully inspire me to finish up all the posts I have drafting. Of course, the tense on this won't make sense because this one won't fly until the backlog gets dispatched. I've just been really lazy and uninspired to hit all those keys. Anyhow, I've had this for a while, since before the summer, but only put it in the fridge a couple months ago and then forgot about it/was never in the mood. But here we are, Xmas Eve: a blend of Oak-aged Bigfoot (22%) and Celebration and Pale (78%)and then dry-hopped. It is an expectedly beasty 9.2%.

My face on the first sip: :O It is a confusing mish-mash of flavors. The Bigfoot, a pretty hoppy b-wine, immediately makes itself known. The mellower, by comparison, Celebration and Pale show up and take over, though still surrounded with a persistent Bigfoot stomping around the edges. The resin-y character of Celebration and the slightly sweeter Pale do ok until Bigfoot's time spent in bourbon barrels demands a retelling. The bourbon flavors are present but well-tempered, with caramel and hot notes.

I'm not going to lie. This tastes a lot like the DIPA I've been trying to churn through. That homebrew batch is about 5 months past its prime, and I've been working very strategically to utilize that 5 gallons. I'll post a picture, if I remember, but my time away did not treat it well. Basically, the hops died and rotted and turned the brew brown, and it became super malty. I suspected the Tap-a-draft bottles are not hard and those allowed oxidation damage, but the bottles were also as awkward. Anyway, this reminds me of those. But I like this one better, probably because it's from SN, and I actually had to pay decent money for it. But I probably wouldn't buy this again, even though I enjoy all of its constituents separately.

• Appearance: Muddy orange and red hues but otherwise fairly clear. Fine, creamy, persistent cap.
• Smell: Rich, malty, a bit pungent.
• Taste: Naturally, diverse. All components are evident and reasonably balance with one another. Taste progresses fairly linearly and distinctly rather than introducing anything surprising.
• Mouthfeel: Expected weight and carb from the style and blend. The Celebration and Pale significantly lower the viscosity of Bigfoot to make it quick.
• Drinkability and Overall: 9.2%ABV. A decent sipper worth a try but probably not a repeat buy.

Kimchi.

Decided some time ago to start making my own kimchi, which is about as essential as rice. If there is no other banchan, kimchi is the very least to have. The great thing about kimchi is that there are different types of kimchi for all of the seasons.

Everyone does theirs a little differently to taste, but the basics are napa, cut and salted and drained, then pitched with ground red pepper, sugar, green onions, lots of garlic. I've seen fish sauce and other vegetables included. A few days sitting out, covered, will let it ferment.

Cottage Pie.

Decided to try a different spin on cottage pie, using sliced potatoes on top instead of mashed potatoes, mainly because I could never get a good crust on my mashed potatoes. Turned out pretty well. The sliced potatoes roast up better and lets more of the gravy through to glaze over the top.

Empire IPA.

A solid, localish (Syracuse) IPA from Empire.

Craft Beer Exchange.

Testing some stupidness in Bloggers draft and publishing date system. A whole bunch of stuff is going to get pushed without pictures for a while, I guess.

Craft Beer Exchange is a sweet, new (at time of draft) program that lets me buy things like Stone IPA on draft at a frickin' gas station. AWESOME. Some gas stations around the area are now equipped with 6-12 taps where you can get growlers filled with craft beers, which is a really cool idea. It gets craft beer a whole lot more visibility and brings more options for my growler fills.

Extreme Beer Fest.

I have a billion posts in draft after this that I haven't pushed because this one is drafting. Short story is that we went to Boston and drank amazing beers. One tasted and smelled like apple pie. Mind blown.

Long story and maybe pictures to follow.

Also, it would be cool if Blogger would not wipe out the draft date and fix the publish date to when the draft was actually started.

Cilantro Pesto.

I haven't really made anything new/good/interesting in quite some time for various reasons, but I did have some cilantro to use up recently, which reminded me of the cilantro pesto I used to buy last summer. The pesto was excellent with the spinach bolani, sharp and tart.

I found Elise actually had a recipe for cilantro pesto, though it wasn't built as a tangy dip. I suppose what I really wanted was a mix between her cilantro pesto and chimichurri. I mostly followed the pesto recipe but used less oil, a little too much walnut, and added some lemon juice. I don't think I had enough cilantro, to be honest, even though I still had most of a bunch left to use for it. The result was a little fluffy from too much walnut and the taste mild but it was recognizable.